Gareth Bale speaks out about Real Madrid struggles

Gareth Bale has revealed that he initially struggled to settle in Spain because La Liga is 'more tactical' - but says he is fit and firing now.

The Welshman became the most expensive player on the planet when he joined Madrid from Tottenham last summer.

However he had a difficult start to his career in Spain, with a series of niggling injuries hindering his progress.

Now though it appears that the former Tottenham star has found his best form, and has 10 goals in 19 La Liga appearances.

Having got over his slow start Bale has admitted that he found it difficult to adjust to life with Real Madrid because of how different La Liga is compared to the Premier League.

"Any transfer means a series of changes, in this case it is a new kind of football in a new country and it is not easy to adapt to," Bale said. "I hope to continue to do so and improve my performances.

"I have been surprised by the importance of tactics in La Liga. Not so many long balls are played, you try to keep more of the ball and pass it around. That makes it interesting to play in this league, where the standard is so high."

He added of his drawn-out switch from Tottenham which hindered his preparations for his new club: "The preseason is very important for a player, but I have worked and trained really hard to reach the level of my teammates.

"I am playing well and I hope to be able to keep it up for the rest of the season.

"I am quite happy with my performances so far. I have improved quite a lot, I feel good and everything takes its time. I have a lot of years left in this career and I hope to be able to be able to give the team more each year."

Another hurdle for him to overcome was the fact that Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has chosen to deploy him out of position on the right wing, as opposed to his favoured left-side role.

However Bale, who spent seven seasons with Tottenham, says he doesn't mind where he is played.

"Last year I was playing in the midfield or on the right wing for Tottenham, so this is not a strange position for me," the 24-year-old explained. "I enjoy playing in that position because I think I perform really well there.

"[Ancelotti] has helped me a lot. As a coach he has given us the idea of trusting our chances and having faith in our potential and that has helped us to keep improving in the areas we're working on."

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